Last year, Plano-raised dancer Ida Saki, found a special way to give back to her childhood friend, Micaela White, who died Aug. 17, 2011 at 18 of leukemia.

Saki, 23, now in her third season in New York City’s acclaimed Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, organized Dancers Give Back Dallas in 2014. Dancers donated their talent to offer two days of dancing workshops and a performance, which raised $14,000 for Micaela’s Army Foundation. That money went to support Dr. Theodore Laetsch’s cancer research at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center/Children’s Medical Center, Dallas, and $7,000 went to the Bereavement Care Program at Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth.

Saki is on to her next goal: making Dancers Give Back Dallas an annual event. Saki, an experienced teacher and choreographer named one of Dance Magazine‘s Top 25 to Watch, has collaborated with Jessica Hendricks, Micaela’s former teacher, and Sharon White, Micaela’s mother, to continue the event where Saki and other dancers will offer master classes Saturday and Sunday at Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas. There will also be a performance with Saki, Houston Met, Pedestrian Dance Movement, Matt Luck and Dark Circles Contemporary Dance Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and a silent auction.

Saki’s program is an extension of the Dancers Give Back program annual event created by Mary Alice Dietz and her daughter Ali Dietz in Buffalo, N.Y., in honor of their friend, Jacquie Hirsch, who died of cancer in 2008 at 23. Saki, who helps with that effort, too, reports that they’ve cumulatively raised a quarter of a million dollars for cancer research and support for families affected by cancer.

Plan your life

Workshops, for 12 and older, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday at Bishop Lynch High School, 9750 Ferguson Road, Dallas. Performance is at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Workshop prices range from $10 for an observer pass to $25 for a single class to $205 for nine classes. Performance costs $25. dancersgivebackdallas.com.

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Plano-raised Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet member Ida Saki was in Dallas in February to perform at the Winspear Opera House. She’s heading back to town Jan. 4 and 5 with a cause she feels passionately about: Dancers Give Back Dallas. She and other dancers will perform and offer a weekend of master classes for dancers to raise money for pediatric cancer research and patient support.

Billy Bell from Cedar Lake and So You Think You Can Dance will teach and perform at a show that will also feature Jason Castro from American Idol. Plus, there’ll be a silent auction with items ranging from iPods and iPads to dance apparel and tuition and Dallas Mavericks , Wicked and Kinky Boots tickets.

Saki, 22, says she hopes to make this an annual event in honor of her childhood friend, Micaela White, of Plano, who was only 18 when she died in 2011 of leukemia.

“I had seen her dance when she was 10, and her talent had inspired me to dance,” Saki says in an email. “I joined her competition dance company a year later and not only danced alongside her but started a strong friendship.”

Micaela’s death gave Saki a bond with Mary Alice Dietz and her daughter Ali, who had experienced a similar loss of their close friend, Jacquie Hirsch, at the age of 23 in 2008. Ali and Mary Alice Dietz started Dancers Give Back in Buffalo, New York in honor of Jacquie. They had already raised more than $175,000 for cancer research when Ida joined forces to expand the organization to Dallas to honor Micaela as well.

Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet

Billy Bell

The event is taking place in Dallas at Bishop Lynch High School, 9750 Ferguson Rd. in Dallas Jan. 4 with workshops from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Jan. 5 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. You can register at DancersGiveBackDallas.com or at the door. In addition to Billy Bell and Jason Castro, the show will feature a solo by Saki, repertoire from Houston Met Dance Company, Dark Circles Contemporary Dance and Pedestrian Dance Movement, a showcase of local dance studios, and solo performances by Evan Ruggiero (of American Idol and the Ellen Degeneres Show) Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. Tickets for the show are $15 and are available at the door, but can be reserved at Info@DancersGiveBackDallas.com

So many wonderful things to do with this kids this weekend! You can get the full list in my Family Fun column. In the meantime, here’s a look at my top five:

Young Masters: Hurry down to the DMA to see what our amazingly talented teens in AP art studio, music and art history classes can do. You’ll see the winners, who are wonderful, but after you check out all 56 pieces, I think you’ll agree they’re ALL winners. Need an additional excuse to go? Admission is FREE at the DMA. Through Feb. 17.

Jesters: This fabulous group of special needs teens and adults have been working since September on an original show that will make you laugh, cry and understand what is in their hearts. You only get a chance to see and support them one weekend a year, so go. Purchasing a $10 ticket (kids 5 and younger are free) along with your applause is what keeps this great program at Highland Park United Methodist Church going. Feb. 9 and 10.

Target Second Saturdays: The Latino Cultural Center just keeps stepping up its game (with help from Target). This FREE monthly program is more like a festival, with a performance of Freedom Bound by Fort Worth’s Kids Who Care, a photography workshop with Oil and Cotton and studio creations with the DMA. Feb. 9.

Discovery Days: The first of the monthly Discovery Days at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science begins with a celebration of hands-on engineering, presented by Time Warner Cable. Kids can make circuits out of Play-Doh and robots that scribble with engineers; don’t forget to explore the rest of this fabulous museum as well. Feb. 9.

Local Girl Makes Good: Ida Saki grew up in Plano, dreaming of one day dancing for the Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet. Now, after years at the Dance Industry Performing Arts Center in Plano, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and New York University, Ida will be dancing as a Cedar Lake company member at the Winspear Opera House Saturday. See how Ida shows us that (with a lot of hard work, dedication and passion), you really can dance dreams to come true. Feb. 9.